Harry Chapman Martin (1854-1917) was a lawyer, educator and politician from the U.S. State of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, and later as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

Background

Martin was born on a farm near Darlington in

Lafayette County, Wisconsin Lafayette County, sometimes spelled La Fayette County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It was part of the Wisconsin Territory at the time of its founding. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,611. Its county seat ...

on December 15, 1854, and attended a

one-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

in the area. His family moved to Darlington when he was nine years old, and he continued in the public school at Darlington, after which he taught school for one year before going on to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, from which he graduated in 1879. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1881, and commenced a lifelong

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professio ...

in Darlington. He also became a director of the Citizens National Bank of Darlington.

Public office

Soon after his admission to the bar he was appointed Lafayette County

superintendent of schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

; he was twice subsequently elected to that office. In 1887 he was elected mayor of the city of Darlington and was re-elected in 1888. He was city attorney for Darlington for several years, and was elected county district attorney in 1892. Martin was a member of the Republican Party's state central committee for four years; was president of the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

for Darlington from 1895 until 1910. He was elected from

Wisconsin's 1st congressional district Wisconsin's 1st congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southeastern Wisconsin, covering Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County, Racine County, Wisconsin, Racine County, and most of ...

as a delegate to the

1908 Republican National Convention The 1908 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois on June 16 to June 19, 1908. It convened to nominate successors to President of the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt and Vice Pr ...

held in Chicago, 1908, which nominated

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Legislative office

Martin was elected in 1895 to fill a vacancy in the Lafayette County Assembly seat, occasioned by the death of Republican

James W. Freeman James W. Freeman (June 17, 1842 – May 31, 1895) was an American businessman and politician. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Freeman moved with his family to the town of Avon, Rock County, Wisconsin Territory in 1844. In 1855, Freeman and hi ...

, but was not a candidate for re-election and was succeeded by George Sheffer, also a Republican. Martin was elected to the 17th State Senate district (part of Rock County (the

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Avon, Beloit,

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

, Newark,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Spring Valley, and Turtle, Wisconsin; the

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, and the City of Beloit), and all of

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and Lafayette counties) in 1898, succeeding Henry Putnam, with 6,584 votes to 3,794 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Rinaldo Fleck. The Senate was re-districted in 1901; the new 17th still included all of Green and Lafayette counties, plus Iowa County; but none of Rock. Martin continued to serve the new 17th; he was re-elected in 1902, 1906 and 1910, in the latter year receiving 5,639 votes to 4,186 for Democrat Thomas H. Arthur, 49 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

J. P. Parnley, and 1 for

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

E. W. Stewart. He was elected president pro tempore of the Senate in 1911, and again in 1913. Martin was appointed by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

James O. Davidson James Ole Davidson (February 10, 1854December 16, 1922) was a Norwegian Americans, Norwegian American immigrant, tailor, merchant, and Progressive Era, progressive Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Crawford County, Wisc ...

as a Senate member of the

legislative committee A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of ...

visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country *Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...

the charitable, penal and reformatory institutions of the state. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1914, and was succeeded by fellow Republican

Platt Whitman Platt Whitman (February 6, 1871September 11, 1935) was an Americans, American lawyer, banker, and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate (1915–1919) and two years in the ...

Personal life and death

Chapman married Kittie E. Dodge, born 1858, an alumna of Platteville Normal School; they had one daughter, Anne Dodge Chapman. Chapman died at his home in Darlington on February 25 after a long illness.''In Assembly: Journal Proceedings of the Fifty-Third Session of the Wisconsin Legislature''. Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1917; pp. 287-8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Harry People from Darlington, Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Mayors of places in Wisconsin 1854 births 1917 deaths School superintendents in Wisconsin 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature